Thursday, August 13, 2015

13/08/2015: Momentum gathers for international agreement to combat rogue fishing

A growing number of countries are ratifying an international
agreement to combat illegal fishing, fuelling interest in how best to implement
the instrument.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is
estimated to strip between US$10 billion and US$23 billion from the global
economy, and their impacts undermine the way fish stocks are managed to make it
a double concern around the world.

The agreement comes into force when 25 countries have
deposited their instrument of ratification, known as acceptance of accession;
so far, 12 countries have done so, the latest being Iceland in June. Two more
states will soon join them.

'Port state measures' generally refer to actions taken to
detect illegal fishing when ships come to port.

The Agreement promotes collaboration between fishermen, port
authorities, coast guards and navies to strengthen inspections and control
procedures at ports and on vessels. Importantly, it also allows states to
prevent the landings of catches derived from IUU fishing by vessels regardless
of the flag they fly.

"The Agreement aims to harmonise port controls in order
to prevent illegally caught fish from ever entering international markets
through ports," said Blaise Kuemlangan, Chief of FAO's Development Law
Service.

"The ability to turn away vessels taking part in IUU
fishing will greatly reduce opportunities for selling their catch, decreasing
IUU fishing worldwide," he added.

Illicit fishing, which includes operating without authorisation,
harvesting protected species, using outlawed fishing gear and violating quota
limits, may account for up to 26 million tonnes of seafood a year, more than 15
percent of the total global output. Besides economic damage, it poses risks to
local biodiversity and food security in many countries.

Workshop for coastal African countriesTo assist countries in building their capacity to implement
the Agreement, FAO has convened a series of workshops in all world regions.

The sixth in the series, funded by the Government of Norway
and covering West Africa, ran this month in Praia, Cabo Verde. Fifty
participants from 16 African coastal countries took part, along with experts
from the European Union, the International Maritime Organisation, the North
East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, the International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the COMHAFAT Ministerial Conference on
Fisheries Cooperation Among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean, the
Pew Charitable Trust and the WWF.

"Fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
is a key priority along the Atlantic coast of Africa, where IUU fishing
contributes to overfishing, creating negative effects for the economies of
these countries," said Remi Nono Womdim, FAO Representative in Cabo Verde.

Gabon, Mozambique and the Seychelles are the only countries
in Africa to have ratified the Agreement, but several others are close to
completing the process.

"Many countries in the region have the will to address
IUU fishing, but require the most cost-effective tools and an understanding
about how these can be implemented at the legal, policy and institutional
level," said Womdim.

Ratification of the treaty requires countries to designate
ports that foreign vessels can use and to block entry to ships known or
believed to have been involved in IUU, as well as share information with other
governments of vessels discovered to be carrying an IUU catch.

In total, signatories that have completed the ratification
process are Chile, the European Union, Gabon, Iceland, Mozambique, Myanmar, New
Zealand, Norway, Oman, the Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Uruguay.

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